Karylle hopes to have more projects outside the country

Dumating kamakailan sa bansa si Karylle after spending two months sa Singapore para mag-taping ng musical TV series na Kitchen Musical kung saan kasama niya si Christian Bautista.

Pero lilipad pabalik sa Singapore ang singer-actress sa Singapore ngayong araw, August 9, para ituloy ang taping until the end of September.

Hindi nga raw niya napapanood madalas ang mga episodes dahil sobrang demanding ng schedule para sa show pero nakakarinig siya ng magagandang feedback.

“Nakausap ko si Christian, sabi niya ang ganda, so sobrang na-excite (ako) tapos nawala ang lahat ng kaba ko. Kasi wala kaming idea kung ano ang hitsura ng finished product. Talagang secret nila hangga’t ‘di nila nalalagay lahat ng kanta, special effects or whatever,” kwento ni Karylle.

Nang matanong siya sa kung ano ang plano niya sa kanyang international career, sinabi ni Karylle na pagkatapos ng Kitchen Musical ay magiging open pa rin siya sa mga international offers.

“Itong show na ito hopefully after this magkaroon ng iba pang offers, kung sa theater naman, ‘pag dumating na lang kasi lagi namang may auditions, gaya nito nag-audition ako for this.”

Hindi rin siya nangangamba para sa kanyang career sa Pilipinas dahil sa tulong ng technology ay pwede pa rin daw siyang maging in touch with her fans.

“Actually everyone is interactive, everyone is on Twitter. Nagsusulat na lang ako, nagba-blog din ako once in a while. Gumagawa rin ako ng mga video ganyan.”

Best friends daw sila ni Christian sa TV show. Masaya rin niyang ibinalita na marunong nang sumayaw ngayon si Christian dahil required ito sa kanya.

“Isa na po siyang ganap na dancer. ‘Yung choreographer namin don is from Australia. Nung huli naming dance number talagang napatingin ako na dancer na talaga itong si Christian.” Araw-araw nga raw silang magkakasama doon.

Sa October daw ay ipapalabas ang pilot episode sa ABS-CBN at ang mga susunod na episodes naman ay ipapalabas sa Studio 23 at sa AXN cable channel.

Kung si Christian daw ay natutong sumayaw, ang kay Karylle naman, “Ngayon marunong na akong magluto. Dati pa-bake-bake lang ako nai-intimidate talaga akong magluto kasi di ba parang ang perfect ng cook sa mga TV parang konting ganyan lang, magic. Tapos ngayon ako kaya ko na rin magluto.” (Bernie Franco, Push.com.ph)

Empress admits she’s not ready to start dating yet

Empress said she is not in any hurry to get into a relationship despite reports trying to link her to her Guns and Roses co-star Ejay Falcon.

“Gentleman talaga siya and harmless. Okay naman siya sa mga ibang nakilala ko na nakasama ko at saka mga ibang friends ko. Si Ejay talaga may respeto siya sa mga babae. Tsaka minsan kapag tiningnan mo yung isang tao, maju-judge mo na siya kahit hindi mo siya kilala. Pero si Ejay pag nakilala mo talaga siya, kahit sandaling panahon pa lang, makukuha mo na kagad yung personality niya which is gentleman siya, may respeto siya sa mga babae at sa mga tao. Magalang naman siya so okay naman. Pinupuri nga siya ni mama kasi mabait naman daw siya,” she said.

Empress also admitted she finds it hard to believe rumors that her co-star is a playboy.

“Mukang hindi ko naman nakikita na babaero siya. Siguro pag-extend yung Guns and Roses makikita ko na babaero siya (laughs),” she joked.

The 18-year-old actress said that even though her parents accompany her to tapings for Guns and Roses, she does not consider them to be super strict with her.

Empress said Ejay already understands this about her.

“Hindi naman po kasi siyempre kung nanay ka tapos babae yung anak mo, siguro ganun din naman yung mararamdaman mo na lalo na artista laging wala tapos madaming nakakasama, nakakatakot talaga. So naintindihan ko naman yung pati si Tita Becky (Aguila, her co-manager) strikto talaga dahil sa mga nangyayari sa showbiz ngayon. Kaya naintindihan ko naman yun kaya siyempre sa sarili ko, gusto ko din alagaaan yung sarili ko na huwag muna talaga. Habang wala pa, wag munang ipilit. Malinaw naman yun, bago pa naman kami magkasama, malinaw na kay Ejay yun. Klaro na sa kanya yun,” she stressed.

The former Rosalka star also admitted that she knows she is not ready to start dating yet.

“Hindi pa rin ako ready talaga. At saka never pa ako nagsabi kay mama na parang may date ako ngayon or kaya may dalaw. So nahihiya ako magpaalam or magsabi. Hindi ko kasi alam kung ano yung reaction nila. Tsaka hindi rin ako kumportable kung kami lang. kasi kami ni mama, parang open kami, pero pagdating sa mga ganyang bagay, parang nahihiya talaga ako. So hindi ko alam kung paano ko gagawin. Okay lang kasi hindi ko naman focus yun at saka wala namang pagkakataon para mag-focus dun. Alam ata ng lahat ng Star Magic na strikto sila mama so bago pa nila ako i-text, alam talaga nila na parang, ‘Uy ‘wag mong ligawan yan kasi strikto yung parents nyan,’ parang ganyan. So may nagtra-try naman talaga, tinatanong nila kung totoo, sinasabi ko naman na oo totoo yun. So natatakot sila kagad (laughs). In fairness naman kasi kay Ejay, kilala na siya ni mama eh. So mas maganda talaga kung friends muna. Siguro gusto nila yung kilala talaga nila,” she said.

Empress said it’s still too soon to tell how she would react if Ejay decides to court her, but she admitted she enjoys his company while their on the set.

“Tingnan muna natin. Patagalin pa muna natin kasi parang ang ikli pa lang ng panahon eh. Siyempre dahan-dahan muna. Siguro mas maganda dahan-dahan muna kasi sayang naman yung hinintay kong ilang taon kung go lang ng go di ba? Sa kung nagpaparamdam man siya, di ba multo lang nagpaparamdam? (laughs). Hindi kasi kapag yung mga girls ang tinanong mo kung nagpaparamdam na ba yung lalake, hindi mo alam kaya dapat yung lalake yung magsasabi,” she said.

The talented young actress said there is a lot to look forward to in their scenes in Guns and Roses in the coming weeks.

“Medyo masungit talaga siya so medyo nagsusungit na rin ako pero yung mga ginagawa naming ngayon, tine-taping namin ngayon, makikita nila yung mga malaking mga pagbabago sa aming dalawa so more kilig factor yun para sa mga manunuod,” she added. (Rhea Manila Santos, Push.com.ph)

Kathryn Bernardo doesn't mind being compared to Julia Montes

After being catapulted to star status by their hit teleserye Mara Clara, Kathryn Bernardo and Julia Montes will clash once again, this time on the big screen via Star Cinema’s upcoming offering Way Back Home.

Those who got hooked on the rivalry between Kathryn and Julia’s characters in their TV series are in for a new treat in Way Back Home.

Kathryn shared, “Iba po itong movie, hindi tulad ng Mara Clara na maraming sampalan and sabunutan. Walang masyadong sakitan, more on the dialogue.”

Kathryn confessed that she is feeling the pressure to follow up the success of Mara Clara by making their launching movie a box office hit.

“Nararamdaman talaga namin ‘yung kaba kasi iba na ang pelikula. Sa TV isang click lang makakapanood na ang mga tao. Pero sa movie kailangan nang magbayad. Iba rin ang acting sa movie kaya mas challenging.”

In the movie, Kathryn will play Joanna who after years of living with amnesia comes home to her real family.

But the lost time has alienated Joanna from everyone, most especially to her elder sister Jessica, played by Julia.

Kathryn explained that she doesn’t mind being typecast playing goodie-oppressed roles on screen.

“Hindi ako natatakot na ma-typecast na api-apihan lagi. Pero sana mabigyan din ako ng chance na gumawa ng bago para maiba naman. Nasa management po ‘yun kung anong roles ang bagay sa akin.”

For her impressive acting talent, Kathryn is now being tagged as Judy Ann Santos’s successor.

But the teen actress said she prefers establishing her own name in the industry.

“Sobrang thankful kasi sobrang laking artista ni Ms. Juday. Malaking compliment na maikumpara sa kanya. Pero sabi na sa akin ni Ate Juday noon na ayaw naman niyang pati ‘yung pag-arte niya e gayahin ko. Gusto niya gumawa ako ng sarili kong name. Kaya ngayon happy siya sa nagiging takbo ng career ko.”

Both Kathryn and Julia are predicted to be on their way to superstardom.

That’s why aside from playing rivals onscreen, they are also being pitted against each other as to who is more talented and popular.

However, Kathryn said that despite the intrigues, she and Julia remain good friends.

“Hindi talaga maiiwasan ang comparison sa artista lalo na sa aming dalawa ni Julia. Pero alam namin pareho na hindi kami dapat magpaapekto. For as long as alam naming dalawa kung ano ang totoo friends pa rin kami. Kapag work, work lang. Wala namang personalan sa amin ni Julia. Effective si Julia kapag eksena kaya makaka-react ka talaga nang tama.” (Napoleon Quintos, Push.com.ph)

Facebook ban spurs picket at Ateneo de Davao

Students and some faculty members picketed the Ateneo de Davao University last week in protest of the restrictions imposed on them in going online on social networking site Facebook within campus.

Students complained that they were required to pay more than P1,300 as “information technology fee" each semester.

But the administration of Ateneo de Davao clarified that Facebook is “not totally banned" in their university, but rather the restrictions prohibit students from going to the popular site from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. only.

School officials said that the sheer number of people who go on Facebook on campus heavily overburdens the university’s internet service bandwidth, such that it negatively impacts on the university’s other online services.

“Most of our books are not really physically in the library. It’s online, they [students] can read these books while they are inside the campus," Assistant to the President of Ateneo de Davao University Jeremy Eliab told GMA News.

“Now, if Facebook is eating the bandwidth, it’s impossible to download the whole book," he explained.

“We want our personnel to focus more on – not on social networking – but on their necessary work, basically educational work," he added.

Eliab also said the ban was also a disciplinary measure to prohibit students from accessing Facebook during their classes.


Faculty statements

After the official announcement of the ban, an open letter was issued stating: “The College Faculty Union of Ateneo de Davao University (CFU) vehemently protests the blocking of social networking sites such as Facebook and Friendster, including other sites. The blocking is initiated by the Technical Service Office (TSO) of the university, as the internet site claims to be [sic]. This infringes on the freedom of information and of expression which requires thorough discussion beforehand to determine what constitutes a violation or not. The CFU will file grievance as initial and LEGAL response directed to the head of TSO."

On his blog, Ateneo de Davao professor Dominique Cimafranca noted that the picketers held up placards with Facebook’s blue-and-white “f" logo and the statement “Stop Facebook Ban."

“They do know what an ‘F’ means academically, right?" he wrote wryly that he had quipped to his fellow faculty member.

Also last week, another university in Mindanao, state-run University of Southern Mindanao prohibited school personnel from going on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites during office hours. (report from Marlon Anthony Tonson/VS, GMA News)

DepEd opposes Ateneo de Davao Facebook ban

The Department of Education (DepEd) opposes the partial ban on Facebook in Ateneo de Davao University, the morning newscast “Dobol B sa News TV" reported Tuesday.

DepEd communications head Kenneth Tirado said that the school should instead teach students to use social networking sites like Facebook responsibly, according to the newscast. A good alternative would be the prohibition of the use of social networking sites while in class, Tirado reportedly added.

Last week, some students and faculty members of the Ateneo de Davao staged a picket to protest the Facebook restriction, considering that students were required to pay over P1,300 as “information technology fee" each semester.

But the Ateneo de Davao administration clarified that Facebook is “not totally banned" in the university as the restriction only covers 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In an interview aired on GMA News’ “Saksi" newscast Monday, Ateneo de Davao assistant to the president Jeremy Eliab explained that Facebook eats into the bandwidth of the university’s Internet connection, making it difficult to use some online services.

“Most of our books are not really physically in the library. It’s online. They can read these books while they are inside the campus. Now if Facebook is eating the bandwith, it’s impossible to download the whole book," Eliab said.

“We want our personnel to focus more on not on social networking, but on their necessary work, basically educational work," he added. (report from Paterno Esmaquel II/TJD, GMA News)